Becoming a LinkedIn Top Voice means becoming THE person to follow in a field and being a real reference on LinkedIn. 🌟
The result? These profiles capture attention, generate conversations, increase your visibility, attract professional opportunities… and can achieve up to 1,000 times more impact than a lambda LinkedIn “member”. 🔥
Want to know how they do it? 👀 We explain everything you need to become LikedIn Top voice (or at least try to) and turn your LinkedIn profile into a lasting lever of influence.
➡️ On the program:
- What is a LinkedIn Top Voice?
- Why become a LinkedIn Top Voice?
- Criteria for becoming a Top Voice LinkedIn.
- What are the LinkedIn Top Voice badge categories?
- How to become a Top Voice LinkedIn? 9 actions to take on LinkedIn and 6 actions to take off LinkedIn.
- List of 7 LinkedIn top voices to follow in 2025 (by category).
- Essential tools to use to become LinkedIn Top Voice.
Let’s get started! 🚀
What is a LinkedIn Top Voice?
Being a LinkedIn Top Voice means being identified as a valuable source in a specific field. 💎
🔵 The “Top Voice” badge isn’t just a pretty blue icon on a page, it’s exclusive, official recognition awarded to members who actively contribute to enriching the platform (through their consistency, relevance and ability to generate engagement on LinkedIn).
Not necessarily with buzz, but with substance, ideas, exchanges and discussions. We follow them because they provide food for thought, stimulate debate or inspire action. 🌱
Why would you want to become a Top Voice and earn a badge?
Becoming a Top Voice is a powerful lever for establishing your credibility in an industry 🏆 :
- Your ideas gain in legitimacy, your speeches in impact.
- Your publications reach more people,
- Your LinkedIn network expands naturally,
- Opportunities (collaborations, invitations, pro projects…) come knocking at your door. 🚪
It’s also a real career gas pedal 💼: by positioning yourself as a voice that counts, you become more visible in the eyes of recruiters, partners or customers.
In short, achieving Top Voice program and obtaining the status isn’t just about the prestige of the badge.
It doesn’t just change other people’s perception of you; it often changes the trajectory of what you can undertake. 🪄
How to get a LinkedIn Top Voice badge? Evaluation criteria
LinkedIn itself selects the Top Voices (by sector) and highlights their profiles. Although no magic formula is published, there are a number of strong signals that help us understand how the platform identifies Top Voices. 👇🏼
Top Voices LinkedIn are profiles that meet all the following criteria:
| LinkedIn Top Voice Criteria ☑ | Description ℹ️ |
|---|---|
| Relevance of content | Publications that bring real added value to the audience (analyses, feedback, well-argued opinions). |
| Regularity of publication | Publish frequently (1 to 2 times a week minimum), consistently share over time. |
| Qualitative engagement | Posts elicit thoughtful comments, sharing and constructive debate. |
| Professional tone | Contribute to discussions with kindness, professionalism and without gratuitous polemics. |
| Demonstrated expertise | Content that reflects a clear mastery/expertise of your field or industry. |
| Variety of formats | Multiple formats used: texts, carousels, videos, newsletters, LinkedIn polls… |
| Contribution to the LinkedIn ecosystem | Quality interaction with other people’s content on LinkedIn: comments, shares, recommendations. |
The Top Voice badge isn’t earned by ticking all the boxes at once, but by creating a consistent dynamic over time.
What are the LinkedIn Top Voices badge categories?
As you may have guessed, Top Voices badge materialize distinction and highlight useful, authentic and engaging content. 🤩
There are two types of badge:
- 🔵 LinkedIn Top Voice badge : Official blue awarded by LinkedIn by invitation only. It is visible directly under the profile title. It is personalized according to the content creator’s area of expertise. It testifies to high-level expertise and overall excellence.
- 🟡 Community Top Voice badge : Gold temporary recognition, awarded according to the quality and frequency of contributions to Linkedin Pulse collaborative articles. It is visible only in certain content. It testifies to expertise in a specific theme.
💡A single profile can accumulate both types of recognition, but only the blue badge is permanent.
There are therefore several types of official LinkedIn Top Voice badge (blue), even if the most frequently encountered badge remains the generic “Top Voice” (without specifying the area of expertise) :
| LinkedIn Top Voice Categories | Possible badge |
|---|---|
| 📣 Marketing & Communication | Top Marketing Voice / Top Voice LinkedIn Marketing Top Branding Voice Top Digital Marketing Voice Top Product Management Voice LinkedIn |
| 🧲 Sales & Prospecting | Top Sales Voice Top Social Selling Voice |
| 💼 HR & Recruitment | Top HR Voice / HR Top Voice LinkedIn Top Talent Acquisition Voice Top Recruiting Voice LinkedIn Top People & Culture Voice |
| 🦾 Entrepreneurship | Top Entrepreneurship Voice LinkedIn Top Startup Voice |
| 🤖 Tech & Innovation | Top Tech Voice Top AI Voice LinkedIn / AI Top Voice LinkedIn Top Innovation Voice Top Web3 Voice Top Machine Learning Voice LinkedIn Top Cybersecurity Voice LinkedIn |
| 💸 Finance & Economics | Top Finance Voice Top Business Voice Top Strategy Voice |
| 🧘🏻♀️ Personal Development | Top Career Voice Top Leadership Voice LinkedIn Top Coaching Voice |
| ⚖️ Legal & Compliance | Top Legal Voice |
| 🏭 Industry & specific sectors | Top Retail Voice Top Sustainability Voice Top Supply Chain Voice Top Healthcare Voice Top Data Science Voice LinkedIn / Data Science Top Voice LinkedIn / Top Data Engineering Voice LinkedIn |
⚠️ This list is indicative, based on badge actually observed (publicly) on LinkedIn profile. It is neither fixed nor exhaustive. These categories vary according to markets (France, US, UK, etc.) and LinkedIn’s priorities.
As a result, several creators may have the title of Top Voice in the same category, and therefore have the same badge on their profiles.
How do I become a LinkedIn Top Voice?
Earning the LinkedIn Top Voice badge isn’t a matter of chance, it’s the fruit of a clear editorial strategy, a regular presence… and targeted actions. 🎯
On LinkedIn, and outside too. 💥
9 things you can do on LinkedIn to become Top Voice LinkedIn
Top Voices are rarely born viral, here are 9 actions they take on LinkedIn to become so 😉
1. Improve your LinkedIn profile
Your profile is your shop window: professional photo, clear banner, engaging headline, value-oriented summary… every element should reflect your positioning.
Think about your experiences and concrete results. A good LinkedIn profile doesn’t sell a CV, it tells a story of expertise useful to an audience. ✨
And of course: look after your URL, add your key links and activate creator mode.
2. Specialize in one area
You don’t become Top Voice by talking about everything. ❌
A visible specialization becomes an opportunity magnet. Choose a clear theme: B2B marketing, tech recruitment, solo entrepreneurship, etc.
This strengthens your legitimacy, attracts a targeted audience and enables LinkedIn to better categorize you.
3. Define your audience
Who do you want to talk to? Managers, freelancers, recruiters, marketers? Which industry? 🤔
Defining your LinkedIn audience helps you tailor your tone, topics, formats… and generate qualified engagement.
The clearer you are about your target audience, the more relevant your publications will be perceived to be.
4. Build a strong, consistent, regular and high-quality content strategy
🗓️ Plan your publications: frequency, formats, angles, objectives.
Alternate short posts, carousels, testimonials, videos… Link up content with high perceived value (inspiration, education, opinion, TOFU-MOFU-BOFU).
And above all, stay consistent in tone and editorial line to be recognized and expected for your LinkedIn content strategy.
5. Think engagement (discussion/comments/post)
Publishing isn’t just an exercise in visibility, it’s a real catalyst for opportunity. But it’s not enough. 🤷🏻♀️
Comment on other designers, reply to comments, ask questions in your posts, send private LinkedIn messages…
Engagement is an integral part of content. LinkedIn values profiles that nurture exchanges, not those that speak in a vacuum. 😬
6. Partner with other Top Voices on LinkedIn
Partner with other creators: co-write a post, take part in a live show, offer a lead magnet duo…
These partnerships give credibility to your profile, extend your reach and reinforce your legitimacy with the community. 🤝
7. Use LinkedIn features to the full
Newsletters, posts, carousels, lives, polls, collaborative article… the more you use LinkedIn’s tools, the more the algorithm identifies you as an active creator. 🔥
Each format has its logic: test them out, adapt them to your message and your audience.
8. Analyze your activity on LinkedIn and iterate
Track the performance of your content 📊: views, click-through rates, comments, shares. Identify what resonates most with your audience.
Don’t be afraid to experiment, but always base your adjustments on real data, not intuition.
9. Stay consistent and strengthen your presence over time
Consistency trumps one-off performance.
Being present every week, refining your editorial line, continuing to publish even when the algorithm sulks: it’s this endurance that builds real influence. 👌
6 actions to take off LinkedIn to be among the Top Voices.
As we told you, being influential on LinkedIn isn’t just about… LinkedIn! 👀
Here are 6 key actions to take offline or on other channels to boost your legitimacy/credibility and maximize your chances of becoming Top Voice.
1. Be a successful entrepreneur?
You don’t have to be, but it reinforces your credibility. 💪🏼
A solid entrepreneurial track record, fund-raising, visible growth marketing or tangible customer successes are often featured in publications.
This feeds the authority perceived by the audience… and by LinkedIn’s editorial team.
But beware ⚠️: it’s not the entrepreneurial status that counts, it’s the impact and the ability to draw shareable lessons from it.
2. Webinars and conferences
Speaking at events (online or face-to-face) boosts your legitimacy. 🎤 It generates reusable content, feeds your storytelling and positions you as a voice recognized by other players.
Mention these interventions on LinkedIn to create a dynamic of social proof and external authority that will ultimately benefit you.
3. Have successful channels (YouTube, podcast, etc.)
A solid audience elsewhere (YouTube channel, podcast, newsletter, Instagram…) is an excellent lever. 📹 It shows you know how to capture attention, create regular content, and federate a community.
As with webinars and conferences, by relaying these formats on LinkedIn, you strengthen your reach and demonstrate your multi-channel expertise.
4. Be published or quoted in recognized media
📰 Appearing in specialized or general media (TV, articles, tribunes, interviews, other awards…) reinforce your credibility.
This positions you as a reference in your field on Google.
Here too, remember to relay them intelligently on LinkedIn to nurture your expert image in a way that’s not arrogant but impactful. 🔄
5. Building a solid offline network
Top Voices aren’t just digital. The real network feeds the ideas you disseminate and the exchanges you maintain online.
🎉 Participating in clubs, professional associations, trade groups or industry events allows you to exchange, learn… and create richer content and a richer network.
6. Be active in impact initiatives
Being involved in voluntary, inclusive, environmental or educational projects gives meaning to your public presence and nourishes powerful stories to share.
These commitments are valued by LinkedIn, which highlights profiles that embody strong values. 🌻
Don’t hesitate to consult our articles to learn more about every action you can take to become Top Voice LinkedIn.
List of 8 LinkedIn top voices to follow (by category)
🥇 We’ve unearthed 7 LinkedIn Top Voices to follow (each is #1 in their respective category rankings on LinkedIn France). 🇫🇷
You can discover more top creators via the LinkedIn search function, which lets you explore all profiles by theme or location. 🔍
- Step 1: Type “Top Voice” in the search bar.
- Step 2: Click on the “People” button.
- Step 3: Click on “Location” and select the geographical area/country in which you are looking for LinkedIn Top Voices.
![[TUTO] Top Voice LinkedIn search](https://blog.waalaxy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/linkedin-search-top-voice-tuto.png.webp)
Neil Patel – LinkedIn Top Voice Digital Marketing & SEO
🟠 Neil Patel earned his Top Voice badge by consistently publishing high-value, practical content on SEO and digital marketing.
He stands out in particular: his Marketing School podcast, which he co-hosts with Eric Siu, is approaching 100 million downloads, with over 2,500 episodes to its credit. 💥
Through case studies, free tools, and bite-sized strategies, he made complex concepts accessible to a broad audience. His consistency and generosity with knowledge turned him into one of the most followed marketers worldwide.
Guy Kawasaki – LinkedIn Top Voice Brand & Innovation
Guy Kawasaki leveraged decades of experience at Apple and Canva to share powerful lessons on branding, storytelling, and innovation. ✨
Moreover, he is a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business, author of Think Remarkable, host of Remarkable People podcast… and, finally, is reknown for his photographic talents.
His LinkedIn posts combine authenticity, authority, and sharp valuable insights, making him a go-to voice for professionals seeking inspiration in tech and design. 💭
Pam Didner – LinkedIn Top Voice B2B Marketing & AI
Pam Didner is a B2B marketing strategist, author, and speaker who earned her reputation by connecting traditional marketing with AI, automation, and digital transformation. 🤖
She regularly (in particular through its podcast “B2B Marketing & More”) shares frameworks, content marketing strategies, and thought leadership on how companies can align sales and marketing for better results.
Her posts are practical and actionable, often breaking down complex industry trends into clear takeaways for professionals. 🔑
This mix of expertise and clarity made her a recognized LinkedIn Top Voice.
Anthony Pierri – LinkedIn Top Voice Startups & Positioning
Anthony Pierri is a go-to-market strategist and co-founder of FletchPMM, known for helping SaaS startups clarify their positioning and messaging.
He became popular on LinkedIn with his practical and visual engaging carousels that break down complex go-to-market concepts into simple, punchy lessons. 🥊 That helped him earn recognition as a LinkedIn Top Voice.
By focusing on a clear niche-specific product marketing for early-stage startups—he built credibility fast and attracted a highly engaged audience of founders and marketers.
And, he’s now a must-follow resource for anyone working on SaaS growth.
James Clear – LinkedIn Top Voice Career & Personal Growth
James Clear is the author of the international bestseller Atomic Habits, which has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. 📚
On LinkedIn, he built his Top Voice status by distilling the science of habits, productivity, and decision-making into short, memorable insights. His posts are clear, repeatable, and highly shareable—often one idea per post—which makes them resonate widely.
Beyond writing, James Clear delivers keynotes and publishes a popular newsletter read by millions. 📬 By combining research-backed ideas with practical advice, he has become one of the most influential voices on social networks, a thought leader in the personal growth and career space on LinkedIn.
Sara Blakely – LinkedIn Top Voice Business & Entrepreneurship
Sara Blakely is the founder of Spanx/Sneex, philantropist, and one of the most inspiring female entrepreneurs of her generation (by supporting female-led initiatives and inspire the next generation of innovators).
She became a LinkedIn Top Voice by sharing candid stories about her journey—starting Spanx with just $5,000 in savings, facing countless rejections, and eventually building a billion-dollar brand. 🤑
With her relatable and motivational storytelling, she blends business lessons with authenticity, often highlighting resilience, creativity, and women’s empowerment. 👊🏼
Josh Braun – Top Voice Sales & Prospecting
Josh Braun is a sales coach, author, Inside Selling podcast host, and LinkedIn Top Voice recognized for making B2B sales approachable and practical.
📣 He built his reputation as a trusted voice in modern sales by sharing ready-to-use scripts, conversation frameworks, and real-world sales dialogues that help professionals prospect and close deals more effectively.
His posts are short, concrete, and immediately actionable, which resonates strongly with salespeople looking for quick wins. By focusing on clarity and value over fluff, Josh transformed LinkedIn into his classroom, attracting a large and loyal audience. 🤓
Chris Do – Top Voice Design & Creative Business
Chris Do is a designer, educator, and founder of The Futur, a platform dedicated to helping creatives succeed in business. 🏆
He became a LinkedIn Top Voice by consistently publishing content that bridges design, branding, and entrepreneurship. His posts often cover topics that resonate deeply with freelancers and creative professionals (pricing creative work, building a personal brand, negotiating with clients…).
✍🏼 With a style that is direct, visual, and motivational, Chris empowers designers to think like entrepreneurs. Beyond LinkedIn, his YouTube channel and podcasts have reached millions, making him a global voice for creative business growth.
Essential tools for becoming LinkedIn Top Voice
Publishing with regularity and impact requires more than creativity: it also requires using the right tools. ⚙️
Of course, there are hundreds out there that can do the job, but based on our experience, we recommend a few essential tools to use to become Top Voice LinkedIn. 👇🏼
Waalaxy
👽 Waalaxy is much more than a multi-channel prospecting tool (LinkedIn and Email), it’s ultra-performing and ultra-easy to use to automate your prospecting quickly and effortlessly.
Most of the solutions on the market are often rather complex to learn how to use and aimed at technical profiles, making them difficult to use. But not Waalaxy. 😈
🤯 Here are all of Waalaxy’s multichannel prospecting features (from LinkedIn search to outreach to your prospects), available via hyperaffordable subscriptions :
- App, customer support and resources available in +11 languages,
- Instant access to a database of 500 M+ profiles,
- Search, advanced filtering and auto-import of leads from LinkedIn (standard, Sales Navigator, Recruiter, .CSV file, groups and events, reactions under posts…),
- Best-in-class automatic and integrated data scraping and enrichment tool (emails and phone numbers) with +60% of data found, to facilitate prospecting (100% RGPD/CCPA and available in freemium version),
- Sorting and marketing segmentation of enriched data and prospect lists,
- Launch multi-channel prospecting campaigns (LinkedIn and E-mail) in just a few clicks, from the ultra-easy-to-use template library of action sequences (visit profiles, send personalized invitations and follow-up messages…).
- Mass messaging and Inbox Waalaxy to manage conversations with prospects, scoring and follow-up,
- Plan Team to manage the LinkedIn accounts of an entire team and centralize results,
- Enriched data synchronization to CRMs (Hubspot, Salesforce, Pipedrive natively and to +2000 apps via Zapier/Make).
- Dashboard to monitor campaign performance in real time, with numerous KPIs and analytics.
In short, it’s the all-in-one tool you need to centralize your prospecting: from research, to data enrichment, to prospect outreach!
In short, Waalaxy works for you and helps you create a virtuous circle of engagement around your content.
The result: more views, more likes, more leads, more conversions. And maybe even, a LinkedIn Top Voice status? 🤩
🚨 You really can’t miss this.
Kawaak
Kawaak ☕️ is a LinkedIn post generator designed to write with AI, plan and optimize your posts in just a few clicks.
In just 30 minutes, you can create weeks of content based on your expertise, without having to spend hours in front of a blank page.
🔑 You enter some key information, and Kawaak suggests :
- Several punchy hooks to try out,
- Ready-to-use versions of copywritten posts,
- Edit, program and publish directly from the platform.
Believe me, you should try out this LinkedIn bot, the results are crazy, high quality and high value-added.
🤩 You can also use Kawaak to :
- Perform intelligent repurposing (transform a high-performance post into a carousel, video, infographic…),
- Generate impactful visuals with one click: generate a quote card with a content excerpt/punchline, and even generate images of yourself (portrait, professional photo, street photo, casual and on-the-fly photo…).
- Identify and brief the right creators according to their audience, to launch B2B influence campaigns on LinkedIn in their image (and yours).
- Access an ultra-complete tracking dashboard.
Ideal for reaching the goal of becoming Top Voices, it helps you stay regular, test formats, and engage with others more effortlessly. 🚀 Already, over 4,000 users have adopted Kawaak.
Of course, there are plenty of others like Canva, Notion, PerfectPost, Shield Analytics…. We invite you to discover them in our LinkedIn Bot article.
Conclusion: How do I earn a LinkedIn Top Voice badge?
Becoming LinkedIn Top Voice means :
- Certainly the ultimate consecration 🏆 : visible recognition of expertise, consistency but also a pledge of credibility and an invitation to continue publishing with intention and regularity.
- But also the reflection of an in-depth approach ⛏️: sharing with regularity, creating added value for your audience, being part of the conversations that count, etc.
More than an algorithmic quenstion, it’s a human strategy: being useful, authentic and present. By cultivating your expertise, your voice will naturally come to count… and perhaps earn you that famous blue badge. 🗣️
But, don’t forget, whether you become LinkedIn Top Voice (or not) the real benefit is the relationships, opportunities and impact you build over time on LinkedIn. 🌱
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
🏁 To conclude, here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions on this subject. 👇🏼
How many LinkedIn Top Voice are there in USA?
LinkedIn does not provide exact official figures, as the list of Top Voices changes regularly according to category and country:
- 🇺🇸 In the US, there are estimated to be a few dozen to over a hundred, spanning fields such as marketing, sales, tech, business, leadership, and career growth.
- 🌍 Worldwide, only 300 LinkedIn users are selected each year.
The aim is not to create a “closed club”, but to enhance the profiles that enrich the platform’s discussions. So, every year, new Top Voices are selected, while some disappear from the list.
What to do if the LinkedIn Top Voice badge not showing?
If you’ve been selected as a LinkedIn Top Voice but the badge doesn’t appear on your profile, start by checking your settings 👀 the badge may be disabled by default and requires your validation to be displayed.
In this case, LinkedIn usually sends you a notification or an e-mail. 📧 Also check your public visibility preferences.
If the problem persists, your best bet is to contact LinkedIn Help support directly. 🛟
🚨 Warning: only LinkedIn can activate or remove this badge, there is no shortcut or external tool to force it.
Difference between Top Voice badge and verified profile badge?
🔵 The LinkedIn Top Voice badge is an editorial distinction awarded by LinkedIn to highlight your content and marketing influence. It values your outlets and your role as a creator.
✅ The verified profile badge, on the other hand, is a measure of authenticity: it confirms that you are indeed the person you claim to be (via ID or business address).
In short, one recognizes the value of your content (Top Voice), the other guarantees the reliability of your identity (verified profile). Both can coexist on the same profile.
You’re done! Now you know how to become a LinkedIn Top Voice – it’s up to you! 🕹️
